Aksai Chin Lake or Aksayqin Lake,[1] (Chinese: 阿克赛钦湖; pinyin: Ākèsàiqīn Hú) is an endorheic lake in the disputed region of Aksai Chin. The plateau is administered by China but also claimed by India. Its Tibetan/Ladakhi name is Amtogor Lake[2][3] which means "encounter with a round object".[4]
Aksai Chin Lake | |
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![]() View of Aksai Chin Lake taken during ISS Expedition 54. | |
![]() ![]() Aksai Chin Lake | |
Location | Aksai Chin (disputed territory) |
Coordinates | 35°13′N 79°51′E |
Type | Salt lake |
Native name | Amtogor Tso (Standard Tibetan) |
Etymology | See Aksai Chin § Name |
Primary outflows | evaporation |
Max. length | 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) |
Max. width | 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) |
Surface area | 160 square kilometres (62 sq mi) |
Max. depth | 12.6 metres (41 ft) |
Water volume | 136.2698 cubic kilometres (32.6929 cu mi) |
Surface elevation | 4,844 metres (15,892 ft) |
The lake is part of Hotan County, Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang,[5] The lake is located just south of the Kunlun Mountains. It is approximately 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) long and 6 kilometres (3.7 mi)-8 kilometres (5.0 mi) across. It is fed by the river of the same name, Aksai Chin River.
China National Highway 219 passes some 20 kilometres (12 mi) to the southwest of the lake on its way from Shiquanhe, Tibet to Yarkand, Xinjiang. The lake itself is within Hotan County of Xinjiang, and the official Xinjiang-Tibet border runs about 20 kilometres (12 mi) east of the lake.
In the 1950s, prior to the Sino-Indian War, India collected salt from this lake and two other lakes in Aksai Chin to study the economic feasibility of potential salt mining operations. This lake was the only lake deemed economically viable.[6][7]
(p170) 129 glaciers with area of 709.08 km² and ice volume of 136.2698 km³ in the Aksayqin Lake drainage basin ... (p173) The lake-level of Aksayqin Lake lies at 4844m a.s.l.
1899 Line: It concedes Karakash, Soda Plain and Amtogor Tso lake to China in the Aksai Chin and retains the rest with India.
Indian side ... drew attention to the fact that ... in Aksai Chin all the major place names were Ladakhi ... Amtogar meant an encounter with a round object
和田县境内有主要湖泊5处:阿克赛钦湖,距县城200千米,面积158平方米,湖面高程 4 963米;
...though neither side had any physical presence there. The advantage India had was that she administered the grazing grounds and even collected salt from Amtogor Lake, deep in Aksai Chin.
Brines from (i) Pong Kong, (ii) Sarigh Jilgang Kol and (iii) Amtogor lakes were examined for their suitability for salt manufacture. The brines from the first two sources have been found to be uneconomical for salt manufacture.